A consulting firm hired by the New York City Employee Retirement System is supposed to provide unbiased advice on where to invest pension-fund money, and it recommends itself — despite the objections of the city comptroller.

In 2008, NYCERS paid nine consultants $3 million to recommend where to invest its cash. But the highest-paid consultant, scandal-linked Pacific Corporate Group, also manages a fund that holds $90 million of NYCERS money.

PCG, which has been linked to the pay-to-play state pension scandal in Albany, was paid $1.97 million to be the NYCERS private-equity consultant in 2008.

Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is a board trustee, raised his objections about PCG’s double-dipping during a July 2008 board of trustees meeting, according to pension-fund documents. A delegate who attended on Thompson’s behalf was one of two dissenting votes in a resolution allowing PCG to solicit investments as long as an independent consultant vetted its proposals.

“We had concerns about conflicts of interest,” said Laura Rivera, a comptroller spokeswoman.